Best Fresh Seafood Counter

Bob's Seafood

It all boils down to freshness -- and variety, variety, variety. That explains why about 90 local restaurants procure their fresh fish from Bob and Barbara Mepham's little store, tucked away in University City's Market in the Loop. The world has gotten smaller since the advent of overnight shipping. Fish caught in the Baltic Sea off Denmark can show up in a fishmonger's case the next day and on your table that night. Lobster arrives fast and fresh -- and they'll steam one for you if you don't like the sound of them squirming in the bag on the way home. Perhaps best of all, Bob's still seems to have a direct trade route to the Gulf of Mexico. Everything needed to carry on the tradition of Louisiana cooking arrives in pristine condition, from redfish to snapper to crawfish -- even frozen turtle meat. Not to mention tasso, andouille sausage and spices galore.